Precursor to Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport
Map showing the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport with the original boundaries of the Twin Cities Speedway race track/Speedway Field that preceded it
Speedway Field has its beginning on December 11, 1919, when the Adjutant General recommended to civic groups of Minneapolis and Saint Paul in the U.S. state of Minnesota that the site of the bankrupted Twin City Motor Speedway be acquired for a new airfield.
The 160 acres (0.65km2) of land inside the concrete race track oval was first used as an airfield in 1920. It was known as "Speedway Field" and also "Snelling Field" before being dedicated Wold-Chamberlain Field after two World War I pilots, Ernest Groves Wold and Cyrus Foss Chamberlain on July 10, 1923.[2]
Map showing Speedway Field and locations of runways and structures
Access to the airfield inside the oval was originally through tunnels under the race track.
The field used landing strips W-SE - 2700' E-W 2300'
Hangars for National Guard Observation Squadron were constructed in 1921 with an appropriation of approximately $45,000 from the Minnesota Legislature.
The first hangar for airmail (80' x 90') constructed in 1920 were financed by $15,000 from Northwest Airlines.
The U.S. Navy Squadron hangar was constructed in 1928.
Minneapolis Park Board took possession of the field on June 1, 1928. At that time, there was an airmail hangar, three National Guard hangars, a Navy hangar, and one additional small hangar.[3]
Northwest Airlines Corp. was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 until 2010, when it merged with Delta Air Lines. The merger made Delta the largest airline in the world until the American Airlines–US Airways merger in 2013.
Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, also less commonly known as Wold-Chamberlain Field, is a joint civil-military public-use international airport located in Fort Snelling Unorganized Territory, Minnesota, United States. Although situated within the unorganized territory, the airport is centrally located within 10 miles of both downtown Minneapolis and downtown Saint Paul. In addition to primarily hosting commercial flights from major American and some international airlines, the airport is also home to several United States Air Force and Minnesota Air National Guard operations. The airport is also used by a variety of air cargo operators. MSP is the busiest airport in the Upper Midwest.
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Felts Field is an historic active airfield in the northwest United States, located on the south bank of the Spokane River, just east of Spokane, Washington.
Charles Willis "Speed" Holman was an American stunt pilot, barnstormer, wing walker, parachutist, airmail pilot, record-holding aviator, and airline pilot. Born in Bloomington, Minnesota, in 1926 he became the first pilot hired by Northwest Airways and later its first operations manager. In 1928, Holman set a world's record of 1,433 consecutive loops in an airplane in five hours over the St. Paul Airport.
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